Clearwater River and Hell’s Canyon
“The winds blow cold from a little before day until the Suns get to Some hight from the Mountains East as they did from the mountans at the time we lay at the falls of Missouri from the West.” William Clark, October 6, 1805
We disembarked from the Sea Lion in breezy, yet sunny, conditions, exactly like those described by Captain William Clark in the Clearwater River Valley two hundred years ago today. Clark made his observation as the Corps of Discovery completed building dugout canoes and prepared to depart on the final part of their epic transcontinental journey to the mouth of the Columbia River. Upstream from Clarkston, Washington, we witnessed a party of reenactors repeating Lewis and Clark’s journey downstream. Along the Clearwater, local guide Lin Laughy taught us how the Nez Perce people saved Lewis and Clark’s party from starvation in the fall of 1805 and served as guides down the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia Rivers. Near Kamiah, Idaho, we visited campsites where the Corps prepared to return across the Bitterroot Mountains in the spring of 1806 and competed with the Nez Perce in footraces and other friendly games as they passed the time.
Other members of our party traveled by jet boat into the heart of Hell’s Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. In the canyon, we witnessed herds of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep grazing on the hillsides and great blue herons searching for fish in the cold waters of the Snake River. Our expert jet boat driver skillfully negotiated dangerous rapids as we learned about the river’s powerful influence on early settlers in the canyon. Tomorrow, we continue our voyage of discovery downriver to the mouth of the mighty Columbia. Ben Schwantes, Staff Historian
“The winds blow cold from a little before day until the Suns get to Some hight from the Mountains East as they did from the mountans at the time we lay at the falls of Missouri from the West.” William Clark, October 6, 1805
We disembarked from the Sea Lion in breezy, yet sunny, conditions, exactly like those described by Captain William Clark in the Clearwater River Valley two hundred years ago today. Clark made his observation as the Corps of Discovery completed building dugout canoes and prepared to depart on the final part of their epic transcontinental journey to the mouth of the Columbia River. Upstream from Clarkston, Washington, we witnessed a party of reenactors repeating Lewis and Clark’s journey downstream. Along the Clearwater, local guide Lin Laughy taught us how the Nez Perce people saved Lewis and Clark’s party from starvation in the fall of 1805 and served as guides down the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia Rivers. Near Kamiah, Idaho, we visited campsites where the Corps prepared to return across the Bitterroot Mountains in the spring of 1806 and competed with the Nez Perce in footraces and other friendly games as they passed the time.
Other members of our party traveled by jet boat into the heart of Hell’s Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. In the canyon, we witnessed herds of Rocky Mountain big horn sheep grazing on the hillsides and great blue herons searching for fish in the cold waters of the Snake River. Our expert jet boat driver skillfully negotiated dangerous rapids as we learned about the river’s powerful influence on early settlers in the canyon. Tomorrow, we continue our voyage of discovery downriver to the mouth of the mighty Columbia. Ben Schwantes, Staff Historian
